Israel weighs tactics toward Hamas

Israeli airstrikes killed at least five militants in Gaza Monday as it stepped up attacks.

from the May 22, 2007 edition

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The devolution of the self-rule regime could saddle Israel with a humanitarian crisis at its doorstep. It might also compel Israel to reestablish the same costly military rule over the impoverished strip of 1.4 million Palestinians from which it disengaged in August 2005. It is likely to leave power in Gaza dispersed among different militias, complicating Israeli policy toward Palestinians.

"Hamas and the Palestinian unity government, as long as the latter still holds up, are the best address Israel has at the moment," wrote Zvi Barel on Sunday in the Haaretz newspaper. "This government is not just the only one that has the potential to control the 'State of Gaza,' it is the only one that is still interested in the fate of its public and, therefore, is influenced by the pressure of that public." Mr. Barel wrote. "But without the means to provide benefits for [Gaza's] citizens, it is also paralyzed."

An unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hamas parliament member Khalil al-Hayya – an attack that killed at least eight people on Sunday – was intended to escalate Israel's response to missile fire from Gaza.

But even after missile strikes killed up to 32 people since Thursday, many Israelis suspect that only a broad military incursion can cripple Hamas's military capabilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert found himself under new pressure this week to order such an operation when Strategic Threats Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to pull his party out of the coalition if the government didn't decide on a "bold" operation to "dismantle" Hamas.

But from the outset of the current round of violence, Mr. Olmert has been handicapped by the political fallout of last summer's war. With his government coalition buckling under a scathing report on his handling of the month-long battle with Hizbullah, Olmert can't rely on public backing for a ground offensive that is expected to include many casualties.

Almost alluding to the criticism leveled in the report on Lebanon, Shlomo Brom, a retired brigadier general, warned Israel's political leadership against choosing unrealistic goals in the fighting against Hamas.

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